#MeToo For Jews - Column 12
REFLECTIONS Written by Lana Melman for the SOUTH FLORIDA JEWISH JOURNAL / SUN SENTINEL. Originally published on February 14, 2024.
In 2020, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) created a “Representation and Inclusion Standards” for eligibility in the Best Picture category effective for the 2024 Oscars. It is meant to “encourage equitable representation” both on and off screen.
AMPAS's list of racial and ethnic groups warranting representation is long and specific (including African and Indigenous Americans, Chinese, Koreans, Hispanics, Filipinos, and Pacific Islanders, to name just a few) but does not mention Jews.
The non-profit Jew in the City (JITC), in connection with its Hollywood Bureau, has written a letter to the Motion Picture Academy to contest the omission. Allison Joseph founded JITC to correct the distorted perception of Orthodox Jews and has since expanded to fight negative stereotypes and discrimination against all Jews.
Over 260 members of the Hollywood community have signed the letter. I was honored to add my name alongside Debra Messing, David Schwimmer, Tiffany Haddish, and Julianna Margulies.
The letter reads in part, “While we applaud the Academy's efforts to increase diverse and authentic storytelling, an inclusion effort that excludes Jews is both steeped in and misunderstands antisemitism. It erases Jewish peoplehood and perpetuates myths of Jewish whiteness, power, and that racism against Jews is not a major issue or that it’s a thing of the past…. While many mistakenly believe that Judaism is only a religion, Jews are actually an ethnic group, with varied spiritual practices that not all observe.”
By omitting Jews, AMPAS neglects the fact that we are a tiny minority (2.4% of the US and .2% of the world) that is once again experiencing alarming levels of discrimination and hate.
The letter also says, “The absence of Jews from “under-represented” groupings implies that Jews are over-represented in films, which is simply untrue. There are very few films about Jews, aside from ones about the Holocaust.” I agree with that statement when it comes to authentic or empathetic representation of Jews.
The typical Jew in movies is rich with Ashkenazi features and perpetuates the negative stereotype of white and privileged. Black, brown, and other non-white Jews are practically non-existent on the silver screen. So are modern Orthodox. And Asian Jews. And poor Jews. Not to mention, charitable and altruistic Jews.
Woody Allen is the prototype of the nebbish (timid) elitist Jew, while Rachel Brosnahan in “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” is his materialistic female counterpart. Netflix’s 2023 release, “You People,” depicted Jews as rich and racist. If you get your knowledge about Jews from La La Land (and most people do), you might not know much about us but are likely to feel a mixture of envy and animosity.
The movies in 2023 taught us a lot about the distinct experiences of other minorities in America. “American Fiction” was about the challenges of being a Black American author. “Killers of the Flower Moon” shined a light on the exploitation of the Osage Indigenous Americans after World War I. “Past Lives” is about the impact of childhood emigration on a Korean American woman.
“Maestro” and “Oppenheimer” were about famous Jews in the 1940s (composer/conductor, Leonard Bernstein, and physicist, Robert Oppenheimer, respectively) when American Jews were facing enormous discrimination in housing, education, jobs, guilds, and social circles. President Franklin Roosevelt (1933-1945) reportedly shared the widely held view that it was undesirable to have too many Jews in any single profession, institution, or geographic locale. These two films, however, taught us nothing about what it was like to be a Jew during that period. Many viewers might not even know the main characters were Jewish.
The letter also notes the casting of non-Jewish actors in Jewish roles, “a rare practice for other marginalized groups.” Oppenheimer starred Cillian Murphy, while Bradley Cooper portrayed Bernstein. Neither one is Jewish. I don’t love the idea of constricting casting in such a manner, but if we are calling for authenticity for other minorities, we should do the same for Jews.
I am also concerned that, intended or not, omitting Jews from the lists of protected minorities programs and lumping us in with “privileged” white folks is likely to revive anti-Jewish job discrimination if it hasn’t already. This particularly stings in an industry invented by legendary Jewish producers like Louis B. Mayer, Adolph Zukor, and Darryl F. Zanuck in the early 20th century.
AMPAS must not turn a blind eye to the antisemitic claim that there are “too many” Jews in Hollywood or the racist conspiracy theory that Jews “control Hollywood” in dark and sinister ways as an underlying rationale to justify our exclusion. As noted in the letter, “Cutting down perceived Jewish power has been an excuse for abusing Jews for centuries, most notably during the Spanish Inquisition and 1930s Germany.”
Yes, Jews have made outsized contributions to the film business. I celebrate the gifts of Jewish entertainers and creators in my weekly social media posts to foster Jewish pride. The Jewish leadership in cinema, however, was born of necessity, not privilege, because it was one of the few industries open to us. Whatever past ownership may have been, today media companies are international conglomerates that are, for the most part, public companies.
AMPAS has taken what it describes as a step toward authentic storytelling and inclusion, and I say: “#Metoo” for Jews.
Read the original article here.
Bio: Lana Melman is the CEO of Liberate Art and the author of Artists Under Fire: The BDS War against Celebrities, Jews, and Israel. She is a 20-year veteran of the entertainment industry and has been a leader in the fight against the cultural boycott campaign against Israel since 2011. Learn more or contact: www.liberateart.net
Lana Melman is a contributing columnist for the South Florida Jewish Journal / Sun Sentinel.